BETTER weather helped fashion and homeware chain Next fight back from an alarming sales slump during the freeze earlier this year. Takings were down 0.9 per cent for the half-year to the end of July but this included a period at the start of the year when they fell 1.9 per cent. But performance was boosted by stay-at-home online and catalogue shopping, up 8.3 per cent, giving Next an overall 2.3 per cent sales increase, in line with expectations. Next increased its forecast for full-year pre-tax earnings from a range between £615 million and £665m to a bracket of £635m to £675m. Shares in the FTSE 100 listed retailer were up nearly 3 per cent.